Where were you at 4 a.m. on June 11, 2005? If you were attending the Eels on Wheels trip to Bonaire then you were at the Houston airport. Check-in was suppose to start at 4 a.m. but began 30 minutes later. There were still about ten of us Eels still standing in line when the ticket agent yelled, “three minutes to check luggage!” Luckily everyone got their luggage checked-in. Once in Atlanta waiting to board our next flight the attendants were panicking because they had no idea how to board eleven chairs. Jill and Sherrie tried to calm them down, saying “It’s just like having one chair”. From there, we boarded our plane to Aruba. In Aruba, we had to take a smaller plane to Bonaire so half went on the 5:30 p.m. flight while the other half waited until the 9 p.m. flight. Those who waited got a taxi and went to dinner. The restaurant would only give us 4 oz of water at a time...scandalous! We finally boarded our plane but had to stop and refuel in Curacao. We could not believe that the airport wanted us to pay $2 for a passport stamp. We said “NO”! We finally arrived in Bonaire only to learn that some of our luggage was still in Aruba and would not arrive until the next day. We got to Divi Flamingo Resort about midnight and everyone just wanted to go to bed and start a new day since we had been traveling for almost 24 hours!
The next day everyone agreed the flights and hassle were all worth it. The water was crystal blue and the weather was perfect. We had breakfast in the open-air facility and then headed over to the dive shop for an orientation. The fortunate people had all their scuba gear, a swimsuit, and were able to go on the afternoon dive; the rest of us had to wait till the luggage came. The following day everyone was ready to go diving! Each morning after breakfast, we went on two magnificent dives and then headed back to shore for lunch. We stuffed ourselves and then headed back to our boat for the third dive of the day. We had two boats since all of us were not able to fit onto one. If you were on Dr. Joe’s boat our goal was to get him underwater ASAP, for there was never a dull moment with him! From the second we left the dock to when we submerged Dr. Joe was cracking jokes and hurling humorous insults. Once underwater you could see eels, tons of different fish, and a beautiful reef filled with life. After the third dive each day, most people enjoyed relaxing at the pool, while others went on a night dive. Bonaire was perfect for that because all you had to do for a night dive was jump off the dock. Some chose to opt out of a dive and took the ten minute stroll to town or just relaxed by the pool. Dinner was at the open-air restaurant and you planned on being there for three hours. Everyone would talk about what they saw or funny stories that happened on the boat or in the water. If you found a seahorse, a drum, or a turtle, you were the winner for the day! Those were the hard to find treasures in the water.
Quite a few people were still learning the ins and outs of diving. Megan was learning how to be a dive buddy, how to descend with a person, and how to help out in general. Others, like Virginia, had a buoyancy issue. After the second day she was not sure if she wanted to continue diving, however, Chad and Tammie worked with her that night. Virginia continued to dive the rest of the trip. John-Jack, Dr. Joe, and Davin assisted her underwater to teach her to become neutrally buoyant. She was a different diver at the end of the trip and was able to control her own buoyancy!
For Cliff, using an underwater scooter solo was just not enough. He and his brother, Chris, spent a whole night planning how Chris could use the scooter too. The next day the plan was implemented; Cliff strapped the scooter on the back of Chris’ tank and Cliff was now the driver. Davin held onto the tank still acting as Chris’ primary and the scooter was able to pull all three of them through the water. Megan was the other buddy but chose not to hang on and got left behind. Despite her best effort, they were going so fast she just could not keep up. The scooter extravaganza was talked about the rest of the day.
Saturday snuck up on everyone and we came to a consensus that no one wanted to go back home. There was talk that we should just “miss” our flight. The trip back home went much smoother. We had to spend the night in Atlanta but no one complained about that. Not very often do you get to sleep at a nice hotel in a king size bed with tons of pillows. The next morning the airport was a little crazy because it was Father’s Day. Back in Houston, everyone said their good-byes and fought back tears; some were unsuccessful. All-in-all the trip earned an A+. Through the tough times and the fun times, we grew very close. I cannot wait until next year!
Jills note: This was a very special trip because we got to dive with Bruce Marshall. Bruce was a friend of Tammie and Chad's, and he was a master dive instructor. Bruce probably had more dives than the rest of us combined. Bruce had been diagnosed with ALS the prior year, and his dream was to dive from a boat before his time was up. We were able to fulfill that dream for Bruce. He also helped us learn more about buoyancy, fin control, and breathing techniques. We thought we were going to be helping Bruce, but he ended up helping us. We lost Bruce 4 days after our trip ended. A few months after that, we also lost Dr. Joe's son, Jamie. Jamie was enjoying Lake Travis with his family, and took one more dip into the lake before the family packed to go home. He never surfaced. It was a hard summer for the Eels, because earlier in the year, we said our goodbyes to Big Steve Quintero. Steve was killed in a car accident in April, 2005.
Since the Eels are one big family, we mourn the loss of our dear friends. They will never be forgotten, because they are in our hearts forever.
Bruce, Jamie and Big Steve, we love you, we miss you, and we'll "sea" you on the other side.
